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Reading: What are you? February ‘oo5

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That's right, I'm reading all of them. I keep ordering loads of books at once, then I start the first one then gets to me. The thing is that if I want to read the second book that arrives more than I want to read the first I leave the first book halfway through. This month the books that I bought arrived in completely the wrong order.

this guy is fearless, funny, and undeniably witty (im still not sure if hes trying to be)
the plot is lame and his characters have no depth whatsoever
but the writing is too good at times to even think about putting it down.

Finished up _Something Rotten_ (2004) by Jasper Fforde.
He created a pretty neat little thing with his first book, _The Eyre Affair_ but then kind of fouled it up by making it a series. This is the 4th.
They’re cute and kind of fun for book people (aka “nerds” – as I’ve said elsewhere, if the world were a bit of a brighter place those with pubic hair would read a series like this and not Harry Punter), but his writing isn’t terribly strong and more often than not he goes for ‘cute’ over strong story(telling). Which is, of course, a crime.
Thankfully he’s doing something different with his next release.

Ok. Five months ago I only listened to the beginning of [I]Guts [/I] before it was cut off. I read chuck’s “submerging the I” essay today and read the full length [I]Guts [/I] in there.

What can I say? I can say it was a bad idea to eat a bowl of oatmeal while reading it. It has to be the most visceral piece of writing I’ve ever read. If a piece can evoke such disgust, I must admit it, it’s strong writing. I’ve never actually squirmed while reading something before. Anyhow, I think my favorite part was the ending.
“You can now take a good, deep breath.
I still have not.”

Still picking at Contortionist's Handbook, might get into Fear And Loathing more, perhaps Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon, and I'm tempted to go into Fugitives and Refugees or Lullaby.

Lullaby was a quick read, I liked it. fear and loathing has been sitting in my to be read pile for 3 months, my best friend went on a kick of him last year and read everything but fear and loathing cause it's popular, but she's funny like that.

Last night I finished Penny Dreadful. I really, really liked that book.

And then I started The Fall by Albert Camus. I've only read the first chapter and I am not sure what I think yet.

Let me know how The Fall is. I've only read The Stranger, but I enjoyed it.

mr_hash wrote:

Lullaby was a quick read, I liked it. fear and loathing has been sitting in my to be read pile for 3 months, my best friend went on a kick of him last year and read everything but fear and loathing cause it's popular, but she's funny like that.

I'm reading [I]Manual of Steel Constrution[/I] it's very dry.

I haven't read any of his books, maybe a couple of his articles from Rolling Stone, but that's about it, and I bought the book because I own the Criterion version of the movie. I'm sure I'll like it though and like any other author I'm a fan of, I will compulsively buy the rest of his books.

I haven't read any of his books, maybe a couple of his articles from Rolling Stone, but that's about it, and I bought the book because I own the Criterion version of the movie. I'm sure I'll like it though and like any other author I'm a fan of, I will compulsively buy the rest of his books.

I do that too, I'll read something and if I like it I'll buy everything else by that person, working in a used book store did not help this situation.

Let me know how The Fall is. I've only read The Stranger, but I enjoyed it.

I loved the book The Stranger.

The first chapter was kind of hard to get into because it was basically a conversation and you are only hearing one side of it. Sort of like if somebody is talking on the phone in the same room as you. The second chapter is the same way, but it's easier to get into. That's as far as I am right now.

Sadly, I haven't been reading much lately. I'm in the middle of Jesus' Son, but haven't picked it up in days. I was reading White Noise, but I broke up with my girlfriend, who turned me on to the book. Suffice it to say, couldn't read that and not think of her.

ha... nasty... i wouldnt go THAT far Jay... things such as that shouldn't be coming out of your mouth...

in one picture she looks exactly like Hillary Duff... i wanted to throw-up... because.... Hillary Duff naked... except it was actually some 30 year old who can't act...... things just didnt work out....

started my "Introduction to Kant" and "Writing Below the Belt" - Micheal Rowe, interviews and whatnot with a bunch of writers of erotic fiction. So that one has promise

also started reading a manuscript of a buddy of mine, so far so good. I'm definitely going to put a foot in his ass about polishing it up and submitting it to be published that's for sure

anywise, shouldn't these threads be "What are ya reading- February" instead of mentioning the 'oo5' part ? that way we can just bump this thread again next year instead of having a forum full of specific month/year threads? i'm already kind of looking forward to this november to see what everyone was reading at the time last year.

ha... nasty... i wouldnt go THAT far Jay... things such as that shouldn't be coming out of your mouth...

True. I am certainly not one to comment on physicality as geneticists frequently stop me asking for “a sample”, as they are convinced I may very well hold some as-yet-undiscovered “missing link” info.
I moreso critique the situation that a boardroom of at least (guessing) 15 people chose this particular photo as representation of “alluring” or “enticing”(or whatever the hell a cover is supposed to do, which is basically catch one’s eye), and that on top of all that the airbrushing and photo unrealism is bizarre.
I didn’t look further into her photos (feel free to start the ‘jay is gay rumours’), I cracked the spine, liberated the Hempel story and tossed the mag into the recycle bag.
Any publication that has _that_ many advertisements can’t really be asking me to care about the articles.

karbunkle wrote:

anywise, shouldn't these threads be "What are ya reading- February" instead of mentioning the 'oo5' part ? that way we can just bump this thread again next year instead of having a forum full of specific month/year threads? i'm already kind of looking forward to this november to see what everyone was reading at the time last year.

You just one the prize of Starting Next Month’s thread…and/or Admin can go in and edit the title from its Gregorianess if the hair across your arse (what a strange saying) didn’t fall off with a good night’s sleep. [insert winking smiley if you prefer]

(the original thought of breaking down by-month (and/or year, if you will) was to get a good circulation going and have threads eventually fade back and can be used as a resource if one were so inclined.
Fewer things are more unwelcoming (I think) than a thread that has xxx number of pages).

“of course, that’s just my opinion. I could be wrong.”
(is that what Dennis Miller used to say?)
j(ay)

You just one the prize of Starting Next Month’s thread…and/or Admin can go in and edit the title from its Gregorianess if the hair across your arse (what a strange saying) didn’t fall off with a good night’s sleep. [insert winking smiley if you prefer]

(the original thought of breaking down by-month (and/or year, if you will) was to get a good circulation going and have threads eventually fade back and can be used as a resource if one were so inclined.
Fewer things are more unwelcoming (I think) than a thread that has xxx number of pages).

“of course, that’s just my opinion. I could be wrong.”
(is that what Dennis Miller used to say?)
j(ay)

i read this three times and i still cant make heads or tails of it
you want me to start march thread is that what your saying ?

ok - you guys convinced me - but I need some guidance - what do I do first? (other than sign up)

Just PM Moe, wait a few minutes, and then the knights who say "nee" will ask you some questions three. Then, after reciting Canada's national anthem backwards, you must pass a basic sobriety test. Then, and only then, will you be considered a member.

(Or maybe after a PM she'll just let you in, she's cool like that at times. ;))

how 'bout cloud atlas by david mitchell or a million little pieces by james frey?

plug like WHAT?

Yup - just returned home from my local bookshop (with the woman with the chest-level face) and I now own a fresh new copy of A Million Little Pieces ready to be devoured and discussed as soon as possible.

i read this three times and i still cant make heads or tails of it
you want me to start march thread is that what your saying ?

Sorry, I really should learn to talk in ‘sound-bite length’.

Essentially I see no validity (or even a vague point) to recycling months. As if there is…something interesting about what one reads during, say, June?
Last month while starting the monthly reading thread I questioned all as to thoughts on this, one person answered.

I assure you, I’m not terribly pleased our lives are demarcated by the supposed before-life and supposed after-life (no one has yet come up with a great answer to “and what about the supposed 33 years of during-life?”) of a quasi-fictional (at best) literary person…

But certain restrictions aside, yes, you’re free to start any thread you wish. Maybe a ‘On Tuesdays I read’ and we can have all kinds of stream of conscious cataloging.
Although even the simple month-thing is apparently (very) futile.
For example:

ireLocus wrote:

Has anyone read [I]As I Lay Dying [/I] by Faulkner?

Yes, many here have read it. I believe it pops up *every* month in the ‘monthly reading’ thread, and generally it sparks a small Faulkner conversation.
Highly recommended.

ToC might be the most honest and autobiographical book I ever read in my life, and might ever will read. This book is unbelievable, but even more believable is how a reader could easily extol Miller's work.

I finished The Fall by Albert Camus last night. It was interesting. It was nowhere near as good as The Stranger. I mean, I see where he was going and what he was trying to do - and he was successfull, but I just didn't think it even compared.

Today I started The Mulching of America by Harry Crews. So far it's really good.

Well, I got ahold of a copy of [I][B]As I Lay Dying[/B][/I] by Faulkner as well as [I][B]The Sun Also Rises[/B] [/I] by Hemmingway. What a great way to start off the month, 2 books already.

God. Those are both fantastic reads. Though, to be honest, I had to read [i]As I Lay[/i] twice. But that's just cause I aint the sharpest reader. But. It was only the second Faulkner I’d read, and the first that-read was before I'd even read anything by Hemingway or Fitz or the list could go on and on ... I just wasnt ready for it at that time, comprehension wise: my thought was “I should read some of them there classics that thems literary peoples be takkin ‘bout.”

Anyway. It was a critical letter, from Hem’s homie Fitzgerald. Hem had sent Fitz the manuscript of [I]SAR[/I] for imput, as Hem was so powerfully proud of it. Fitz ripped it apart. Not to be mean; he was being honest with his feelings and told what he thought. Im sure Hem hated him for a short while. (waves hand: Their friendship was volatile on occasion anyway.) In that case, Hem rewrote the story, utilizing much of the advice gifted him, and the beginning is very much different from the original. So, that novel had two of the best literary minds working it. And though [I]Gatsby[/I] never saw success in Fitz’s lifetime, [I]Sun[/I] and [I]Great Gats[/I] have to be two of my fav books.

And the reason I wrote all of this is to let J(ay) know that sometimes just saying “Faulkner” doesn’t necessarily illicit a convo; sometimes it prompts [ever so sweetly] some loser to share a monologue.

Anyway, to truly add to the thread, picked up [I]The Giver[/I] today—found it in the kids section of the BAM—and two lit mags—Ellery Queen and AHitchcock—both March issues.

Honestly didn’t know they there even were noir style lit mags around—just a great find, to stumble drunkenly into: when you knock something off of the shelf and it flops onto the floor, your first immediate response is to pick it up casually and maybe no-one will think youre weird, and youre not so sure if that’s the case but you have to try.
kabol

I finished The Fall by Albert Camus last night. It was interesting. It was nowhere near as good as The Stranger. I mean, I see where he was going and what he was trying to do - and he was successfull, but I just didn't think it even compared.

Today I started The Mulching of America by Harry Crews. So far it's really good.

If you want to read classic Camus pick up[I] the Plague[/I]. it's a little out dated, but the basic theme remains intact.

also, on a philosophical level i always push the [I]myth of Sisyphus[/I] :)

oh yeah, finished [I]Devil in a white ci[/I]ty, don't know how. I realize why I don't read too many historical books. It's like reading how to build an ice-cream cone in 5000 ways. Anyhow, I was interested in the topic so it pushed me to finish it.

Also, found my copy of K's [I]Kiss me Judas [/I] at the local pub. I was reading it there, and when I left in a stupor I forgot my book along with my coat. Anyhow I returned the next day to see that is waqs behind the bar wedged between a bottle of Southern comfort and Tina Maria. so i assume it had a good night sleep.

God. Those are both fantastic reads. Though, to be honest, I had to read [i]As I Lay[/i] twice. But that's just cause I aint the sharpest reader. But. It was only the second Faulkner I’d read, and the first that-read was before I'd even read anything by Hemingway or Fitz or the list could go on and on ... I just wasnt ready for it at that time, comprehension wise: my thought was “I should read some of them there classics that thems literary peoples be takkin ‘bout.”

Anyway. It was a critical letter, from Hem’s homie Fitzgerald. Hem had sent Fitz the manuscript of [I]SAR[/I] for imput, as Hem was so powerfully proud of it. Fitz ripped it apart. Not to be mean; he was being honest with his feelings and told what he thought. Im sure Hem hated him for a short while. (waves hand: Their friendship was volatile on occasion anyway.) In that case, Hem rewrote the story, utilizing much of the advice gifted him, and the beginning is very much different from the original. So, that novel had two of the best literary minds working it. And though [I]Gatsby[/I] never saw success in Fitz’s lifetime, [I]Sun[/I] and [I]Great Gats[/I] have to be two of my fav books.

And the reason I wrote all of this is to let J(ay) know that sometimes just saying “Faulkner” doesn’t necessarily illicit a convo; sometimes it prompts [ever so sweetly] some loser to share a monologue.

Anyway, to truly add to the thread, picked up [I]The Giver[/I] today—found it in the kids section of the BAM—and two lit mags—Ellery Queen and AHitchcock—both March issues.

Honestly didn’t know they there even were noir style lit mags around—just a great find, to stumble drunkenly into: when you knock something off of the shelf and it flops onto the floor, your first immediate response is to pick it up casually and maybe no-one will think youre weird, and youre not so sure if that’s the case but you have to try.
kabol

But now that classes are back in full swing I won't have time to read anything on my own espically being a litt major. I'll be reading contemporary british fiction and plato all this month.

Hey - nice module with the Brit Lit!
Do you know what books are on the reading list yet? With any luck you might get some Jonathan Coe or Will Self. Guess it depends on how loosely they define "Contemporary". You might end up with Graham Greene (no bad thing of course!)

Anyway - I decided that, as this is a Chuck site, I had better read the rest of his stuff this year. I'm now two thirds into Choke - and I must say I think it's my favourite since Fight Club (I've read Survivor and Lullaby as well). I find the main character more compelling and the scenarios/dialogue sometimes hilarious (the debilitating addiction to rocks and the faux-rape scene are particular highlights so far. "Hitting someone with a knife is stabbing.")

Finished The Mulching of America. The ending is totally off the wall. Surprised the shit out of me. Ending wise it would have to be compared to something like The Lottery. The title makes no sense until the last two chapters.

Today I started The Tesseract by Garland. I've heard a lot of mixed reviews on this, and the theme alone makes me want to read it.

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